Small review of LCSC

[Moondeck]

Hello everyone,
got my package from LCSC today, if anyone is in doubt, its actually legit. Didn't expect it to come at first tbh but its here
Got a small blog post on it here:
http://moondeck.novakovsky.eu/2017/10/parts-from-lcsc/

[edavid]

Thanks for the review.  Did you pick the cheaper shipping?  How long did it take?

For US buyers, it looks like the minimum shipping is $5, but it goes up pretty slowly from there.

The website is truly horrible - almost impossible to find things 

[janekm]

BTW their PCB factory (JLCPCB) is very well known within China. One of the most popular ones around. Their component service does have a good reputation as well (my Chinese colleague reckons they tend to stock genuine parts, though their selection is a little limited).

[janoc]

I have tried them recently too after seeing one of the GreatScott! videos promoting them. They are behind the EasyEDA design software too.

No problems at all, took me about 2 weeks to get the boards since the order (with the cheapest shipping).

I have ordered both boards and components from them. The component selection is  limited, but usable. However, beware with JLCPCB pricing - the crazy good  $2 price is only valid for 100x100mm boards. If you exceed that even by 0.1mm you will pay the regular $20-something price already.

[Moondeck]

I took the cheapest shipping yes, at 5.8$ (more than the components O.o), took the standard 3 weeks. But yeah, you gotta know what you're looking for to find something. I havent tried JLCPCB but i am planning to very soon.

[mrpackethead]

I have placed three orders with them.  In total about USD$4000 of parts.   LCSC is part of a huge group of buisness,  ( SZLCSC, JLPCB etc ), and they are very legit. They are sort of the chinese mouser/digikey..    Freight was between $20 and $30.. one of the orders was 5kg.   Parts are legit..  Mostly i was buying passives, though bought a reel of TI Switchers.  Delivery was really quick,  was with me in a few days from ordering, via DHL.  Payment was via Paypal.

The web site is a dog. its really hard to use, compared to mouser/digikey. This carries through from the SZLCSC ( which is in chinese ) which is equally as bad.

you cnat' backorder things that are not in stock.  THere is no information about how many parts are on a reel..  If you order say 3000 resistors dnt' expect them all to come on a single strip.   

I have talked to them and they are looking to improve on things, but the proof will be in the pudding..   

There are some real good savings to be made on some items, but not everything.    You'll spend longer ordering that you will on DK/Mouser but you might also save a Lot of coins.

[neslekkim]

But capacitors manufactured by ReliaPro and ValuePro?

[mrpackethead]

But capacitors manufactured by ReliaPro and ValuePro?

In my case, caps from well know brands like Murata, TDK and panasonic.

The ReliaPro and ValuePro are some kind of weird branding that they apply..   I got some Connectors that are aweosme which are labelled Reliapro, but we dont' know who really made them.

[neslekkim]

Ok, I was looking around a bit to see if I found panasonic electrolytes, but found only strange names.
Would be nice if the webshop would give me option of filtering on manufacturer also.

for prototyping and play I don't care, but some things I want proper stuff into.

[mrpackethead]

Yes, the web site is a major dog to use.

[Moondeck]

Aren't they pretty new on the international market though? Never saw them before.

[HwAoRrDk]

I had poke around the website a while back too. Was intrigued by the potential for a source of all those cheap and ubiquitous Chinese special-purpose ICs such as LED drivers and Li-Ion protection.

One feature the website is sorely lacking is the ability to sort results - e.g. by price or stock. I did see filtering by manufacturer, though. But not in all categories.

[Moondeck]

The manufacturers are fsck'd up often too. Hope they will improve their website soon, its a major PITA. You can pretty much only search for something if you know what EXACTLY you are looking for.

[mrpackethead]

only new in respect of providing an englsh interface..   Youve been able to buy from SZLCSC for a long time.

[thm_w]

Their prices are ridiculously good compared to digikey for passives/connectors.
All of the parts I got were good quality, other than the JST XH connectors which look cheap but that's expected, and they are pennies each. They even have red and black versions.

Of course they don't have everything. So it makes sense to design around their commodity parts for hobby projects (like fets, diodes, esd diodes, etc.), as those have big markup from digikey.

[LaserTazerPhaser]

Didnt want to start a new topic - regarding LCSC they have lots of brands not found elsewhere. For instance this part

https://lcsc.com/product-detail/Others_NCE01H10_C191381.html

seems great for the cost given its ratings - however the brand is not found else were. It does however have a datasheet with specifics. However it might not actually perform as it should. Is it likely a legitimate part?

[thm_w]

Didnt want to start a new topic - regarding LCSC they have lots of brands not found elsewhere. For instance this part

https://lcsc.com/product-detail/Others_NCE01H10_C191381.html

seems great for the cost given its ratings - however the brand is not found else were. It does however have a datasheet with specifics. However it might not actually perform as it should. Is it likely a legitimate part?

Yes almost certainly. There is of course the risk if you design it into a commercial product, that you won't be able to source it at some point. But I'm sure similar parts exist.

http://www.ncepower.com/en/proMOSFETs.aspx?cateid=101

[mikeselectricstuff]

One feature the website is sorely lacking is the ability to sort results - e.g. by price or stock. I did see filtering by manufacturer, though. But not in all categories.

You can sort by price, and show in-stock items only

[LaserTazerPhaser]

Yes almost certainly. There is of course the risk if you design it into a commercial product, that you won't be able to source it at some point. But I'm sure similar parts exist.

http://www.ncepower.com/en/proMOSFETs.aspx?cateid=101

How about a part such as this

https://lcsc.com/product-detail/MOSFET_HL-1H05_C237256.html

its specs for the price don't seem authentic. Vacant also is a safe operating area - a part rated to the values which its rated to should have it specified.

[mrpackethead]

Yes almost certainly. There is of course the risk if you design it into a commercial product, that you won't be able to source it at some point. But I'm sure similar parts exist.

http://www.ncepower.com/en/proMOSFETs.aspx?cateid=101

How about a part such as this

https://lcsc.com/product-detail/MOSFET_HL-1H05_C237256.html


At the price, you cna afford to buy a few, and check them out.      Who would hav ethought a microprocessor would cost you 0.03c


its specs for the price don't seem authentic.

[thm_w]

How about a part such as this

https://lcsc.com/product-detail/MOSFET_HL-1H05_C237256.html

its specs for the price don't seem authentic. Vacant also is a safe operating area - a part rated to the values which its rated to should have it specified.

That one is more suspicious.
If you run it at 5A rds on is 0.234mohm. It would be dissipating 5.85W, and a temperature of 2,100C.
If you go based off of the rds spec and 350mW max dissipation, absolute max current is more like 1.2A. So saying 5A is BS.

There are "fat" SOT23 packages which may be more suitable if you need higher currents as well.

[Richard Crowley]

Aren't they pretty new on the international market though? Never saw them before.

A few months ago LCSC were running banner ads right here on EEVblog Forum for several weeks.

[sokoloff]

If you run it at 5A rds on is 0.234mohm. It would be dissipating 5.85W, and a temperature of 2,100C.
If you go based off of the rds spec and 350mW max dissipation, absolute max current is more like 1.2A. So saying 5A is BS.

Power = I*I*R = 5 * 5 * 0.000234 = 0.00585 W, right?

[mikeselectricstuff]

If you run it at 5A rds on is 0.234mohm. It would be dissipating 5.85W, and a temperature of 2,100C.
If you go based off of the rds spec and 350mW max dissipation, absolute max current is more like 1.2A. So saying 5A is BS.

Power = I*I*R = 5 * 5 * 0.000234 = 0.00585 W, right?

234mR is 0.234R

[janekm]

How about a part such as this

https://lcsc.com/product-detail/MOSFET_HL-1H05_C237256.html

its specs for the price don't seem authentic. Vacant also is a safe operating area - a part rated to the values which its rated to should have it specified.

That one is more suspicious.
If you run it at 5A rds on is 0.234mohm. It would be dissipating 5.85W, and a temperature of 2,100C.
If you go based off of the rds spec and 350mW max dissipation, absolute max current is more like 1.2A. So saying 5A is BS.

There are "fat" SOT23 packages which may be more suitable if you need higher currents as well.

AO3400 would be a more suitable choice for anyone needing to switch that kind of current, as it has only about 0.35mOhm on-resistance (and it's from a fairly reputable brand). It does cost about 50% more of course! The horror!